Henry and Clara

We did a Trustedhousesitter sit for Henry and Clara, two bengal kitties, in the upper Southwest of Portland, OR near council crest from Dec 14-26, 2023 for Kim and Marion while they enjoyed some sunshine in Phoenix.

They had a beautiful ranch home that had recently been completely updated.  We were excited to be able to watch some bengals.  They were loud as they tend to be but not obnoxiously so.  Clara, the smaller female, is completely blind.  We really didn't notice it because she was so good at navigating around.

Henry and Clara got along for the most part.  Occasionally she would hiss and bat at him but never at us.  They were sweet to us but not lap cats.  They liked to be close and so if we were by the gas fireplace watching TV or something, they were right there.

Both of them had unique and interesting personalities.  Henry liked to perch at the top of the catscraper in the basement a lot.  Clara liked to use her exercise wheel down there too.  She enjoyed encouragement on it.  We could rub our fingers together in front of her so she knew we were there and she would walk.  Henry also liked to drink from the bathroom sink.

Each pet sit has a level of complexity involved with feeding.  Some are very straight forward and others are fairly complex.  Henry and Clara had more of a complex schedule and we followed their handy printed instructions for each of their specific feeding requirements.  They did okay eating and we didn't have any issues.

They also liked to play.  They enjoyed the boxes we got during Christmas as well as their play tunnels and various toys.  

We enjoyed our time with Henry and Clara and would definitely sit for them again if the opportunity presented itself.

Review:  "Ed and Jeanne were fabulous pet sitters! They took amazing care of our home - and even more importantly, amazing care of our kitties! Usually, when we return from a trip, our cats scold us for hours. But this time, it was as if we’d never left. The kitties were calm and serene. Ed and Jeanne left our house spotless. The dishwasher was emptied, the linens washed and the bed remade. They kept good communication and sent us lots of photos. It was a real pleasure having them at our house and we would love to host them again!" This was a Trustedhousesitter sit and the review can be found there as well.  Contact info is available on request.

Rip and Rosie

We did a Trustedhousesitter sit for Rip and Rosie, two black kitties, in the Multnomah Village area of Portland, OR from Dec 2-12, 2023 for Barbara and Mike while they enjoyed the Christmas markets in Europe.

They had a beautiful home that was just recently fully remodeled.  Rip and Rosie were a bit shy and cautious the first two days we were there.  Rip liked to hiss and even bat at us at first but it was all just his way of dealing with change and soon we were just fine.  They both had very different personalities.  Rosie was more shy and ate on her own schedule whereas Rip wanted his food right away and like to be part of and get into whatever he could.  As with many cats, the Christmas tree was a particular inviting target to play with and we would sometimes have to resort to the water bottle to warn him off.  We probably did that less than their owners might, but that is the way with sitters versus owners.

Their meal instructions were a bit complex but Barbara left very detailed instructions and because we are local to the Portland area 9 months of the year, we were able to go over ahead of time and go through the process.  Both cats had allergies and so their food was specific only to each of them.  Rip loved to try and eat Rosie's food so to solve that, she had chip activated food dishes that would seal and then only open when the right chipped cat went to eat. It was a great high tech solution except that the unit for Rosie stopped working.  We downloaded the manual, tried everything, called the company, tried resetting it, all to no avail.  But after working with Barbara, I suggested we take Rips working unit and reprogram it for Rosie because Rip was the only cat trying to get into the other's food.  That worked, and so Barbara ordered a new unit but it wasn't coming until after we were done sitting.  Problem solved in the temporary.

We got a lot of play time with both kitties, but mostly Rip, who liked to be around more than Rosie.  Other than manage the cats, we just had a few house plants to water and the usual mail and garbage duties.  It was an enjoyable sit and we would be very happy to repeat a sit with them should an opportunity arise.

Review:  "Jeanne & Ed were fantastic! One of our automated pet feeders broke while we were gone. They tried everything to fix it including contacting the manufacturer. They texted to let me know the situation and we came up with a temporary solution. They sent pics of the cats and let us know what they were up to. They stayed until we got home late at night and gave us a rundown of everything. We would happily have them back again!" (you can see review on Trustedhousesitters and contact reference available on request).